The Home of Australian Craft Beer

New Beers

Barely a day goes by without another seasonal or one-off special flying out of an Australian brewery (if not ten). Here and in our weekly newsletter, we'll bring you news and, if we've sampled them, our take on as many of them as possible. Happy hunting!

Tapped February 8th, 2019

As Ryan Ashworth stepped into the head brewer’s role at Brewhouse Margaret River an expanding range of possibilities opened up not only for himself but also the brewery. While the temptation to go a little crazy was ripe, the desire to craft something seasonal and refreshing was also front of mind. Enter: the saison, a creative middle ground for brewers.
Here the classic Dupont style is explored with elements of peppery spice and lemon rind as well as a little funk derived through partial fermentation…
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Golden Yellow

Style

Saison

ABV

4.8%

Stockists

This summer 2018/19 seasonal is available from the brewery on tap and in takeaway bottles

Tapped February 8th, 2019

The recent creative run from Brewhouse Margaret River brewery has brought them to one of the styles of the moment, the NEIPA. That said, the brewery has taken some licence with their expression in creating a beer that leans a little closer to a classic IPA than the trubby examples that threaten to hold cutlery upright, Uri Geller-style, in the glass.
This is more a fruit bomb than a juice bomb as evidenced by the big tropical aromas of melon, mango, pineapple and more derived from Citra and Mosaic…
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Tapped February 8th, 2019

First up, we should probably express our gratitude that Steve Russell didn't opt for the canine slang equivalent when coming up with a name for this beer; the cat's whiskers is a far better image to have in mind when bring a beer to your lips... For Blasta, the name is a reference to the smug cat who got the cream – or lactose addition in this case – something that’s digitally rendered on the can as the brewery's tinnie lineup expands.
Originally released in support of the 2018 strawberry tampering…
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Red

Style

Fruit Cream Pale Ale

ABV

4.8%

Stockists

Following Blasta signing with Northdown, expect to see the brewery's beers appearing across Australia.

Tapped February 8th, 2019

Brewer's notes: Not as red as a red wine, but in beer terms this is a red ale. Well hopped but not quite enough alcohol to make it an IPA, Pauline sits between a few typical descriptive beer categories.
While it's not a heavy ale, this is a full flavoured ale. Slightly malty with hints of toffee, burnt fig and caramel to balance the hops. Pauline is not a sweet ale, as we have been generous with the hops, adding them at various stages in the kettle as well as dry-hopping in the fermenter. Hop bitterness…
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Tapped February 7th, 2019

Twenty-five years ago, nearly to the day, Snoop Dogg released a slinky, G-Funk defining single from his debut album, Doggystyle. The paean to teenage partying and excess may not have been the inspiration for Nowhereman’s Gin & Juicy, however, given recent releases, somehow, some way, they keep coming up with fruity-ass beers at a rate that seems to be one every single week.
With such a clear concept it’s interesting that there was no juice addition to Gin & Juicy. All the fruit character…
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Tapped February 7th, 2019

Since Brut IPAs entered the Australian scene (and subsequently visited almost every brewery in this fair country), there’s been a broad spectrum of what they look, taste, and feel like. Some are so champagne-esque that you could christen a boat with them, while others are I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-a-regular-IPA.
The most recent entry in Young Henrys’ “Brewers B-Sides” series, where the brewers get to play around with new or weird flavours, is their take on a Brut IPA. On the spectrum,…
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Tapped February 6th, 2019

I suppose we asked for this. Quips in previous reviews that hinted at an unintentional Rocky Ridge "Classic Rock" series now appear to have manifested in another, more contemporary edition, Ryes Against. The similarly named Chicago punk band is a favourite of incoming head brewer Ross Terlick and, although the predominantly straight edge members may not appreciate the accolade from the Jindong brewery, it is further evidence of loud, ringing solos melding with water, malt, yeast and hops.
An…
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Golden

Style

Rye IPA

ABV

6.66%

Stockists

Available in limited release from Darleen's Busselton and select WA retailers.

Tapped February 6th, 2019

Poor Karl. You’ve gotta feel for him. Moving on from his nondescript but possibly 9 percent ABV DIPA-fuelled request for help, his current attempt to find love has been sadly derailed. Indeed, it’s even been infused with misfortune but, if we're honest, selecting a piece of fruit as a potential mate may have been ill conceived from the off. One can only hope that, in his future adventures, Karl has the resilience and considered judgement to find good in the world. Go Karl, you got this!
The aroma…
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Pale Yellow

Style

Lemon Sherbet Berliner Weisse infused with Misfortune

ABV

3.2%

Stockists

The continuing misfortunes of Karl can be found in limited release from Darleen's Busselton and select WA retailers.

Tapped February 6th, 2019

Rocky Ridge owner and head brewer Hamish Coates describes Out of the Blue as the second in a “series of charity beers started with the idea that we should be giving back to the community wherever possible, given the support we receive from our locals.”
As with last year’s Sarcoma fundraising beer, 100 percent of profits are donated to charity, in this case Darren’s Ride, which supports those suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and research into the debilitating disease. Darren’s…
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Pale Yellow

Style

Summer Ale

ABV

4.8%

Stockists

Out of the Blue is available from Darleen's Busselton and select WA retailers.

Tapped February 5th, 2019

OK. We need to start with the name and the design because, as with many of 4 Pines’ Keller Door beers, they’ve done an epic job. The name is kept simple: Kiwi Brut IPA, for a brut IPA with all New Zealand hops and kiwifruit. The design? So much New Zealand (real and fantasy) packed into one label: Gandalf playing cricket; a hobbit hole; a kiwi bird floating through the air; a couple of figures who look like sheep at a glance, but are actually orcs(!); and a whale wearing an All Blacks jersey…
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Tapped February 5th, 2019

It would appear the article we ran at the start of the year looking at the use of lactose in beer – its history and why brewers are so in love with it right now – came not a moment too soon. In the past week, we've had two land at Crafty Towers and spoken to another brewery owner where they're planning to release a mixed four-pack of different flavoured ones later in the year.
As for POG from Green Beacon, it's the beer created to mark the Brisbane brewery's sixth birthday. The POG of the title…
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Tapped February 5th, 2019

For longer than time itself has existed, The Bold and the Beautiful television show has been aired to millions across the globe. If you've ever managed to last through an entire episode, you would know the acting is questionable and the humour very dry. This limited release from Smiling Samoyed can relate to the show in some, if not all, ways, not least as their first crack at a Brut IPA bears the name The Bold and the Brut-iful.
Possessing the lightest shade of yellow imaginable (go on, try to imagine…
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Tapped February 5th, 2019

Beerland’s opening limited release for 2019 focuses on delivering maximum seasonal refreshment in the form of a grapefruit gose. The peel from 150 hand-peeled grapefruit was added to the beer at the same time hops would be added if the brewers were dry-hopping with the intention to replace the traditional citrus character more commonly derived from coriander seeds.
The peel's embellishment of the beer is subtler and more balanced than expected. In contrast, the salt is more pronounced than recent…
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Tapped February 4th, 2019

Bad Shepherd's IPA series has headed in a fair few directions already although, arguably, the first for 2019 is the one veering furthest from where the ever-expanding IPA style category started out. Indeed, if 2018 was the year in which Australian brewers and drinkers went crazy for the hazy, it looks like we're in for plenty of fruity and creamy this time around.
There's plenty that's gone into this beer: flaked oats, apple puree, wheat, 100kg of lactose, whirlpool hops in the shape of Citra and…
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Tapped February 4th, 2019

Of all the characters associated with CoConspirator’s beers, The Matriarch has surely become the best known. It’s scored the brewing company a spot in the GABS Hottest 100 two years in a row and the beer has found plenty of supporters among those who love their IPAs hazy and juicy.
First brewed for Hop Quest 2019 at Beer DeLuxe, The Sour Matriarch – as the name suggests – is a sour twist on the hazy IPA (welcome to 2019, craft beer traditionalists), that shares its base with The Matriarch…
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Tapped February 2nd, 2019

This beer’s got Queensland written all over it. With the Big Pineapple providing the inspiration, and Tropico Fruits in Yandina providing the fresh Australian pineapple concentrate, it’ll be hard for you not to taste the Sunshine Coast in every sip.
The acid from the pineapple brings a whisper of sour to the aroma. But, even though this beer’s full of pineapple and dry-hopped with two pineapple-y hops (El Dorado and Chinook), pineapple isn’t the only flavour you'll pick up: it also offers…
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Tapped February 1st, 2019

At the turn of this decade, the lupulin drenched proceedings that were to come were but whispers between a small group of drinkers. For the most part, the most exciting development of the early 2000s was the rise of an easy-drinking ale with a lighter hue – the golden ale. Indeed, this may well have been the style of beer that launched many now craftier drinkers towards more adventurous realms. This Experimental Series release from Otherside, however, is not that beer.
It is rather a Belgian strong…
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Tapped February 1st, 2019

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is one of those books that, if you've not already read it, you really should – it’s like Black Mirror in book form, only written in 1931. If you haven't, you may well be confused by the descriptors that come with Newstead’s latest kettle sour: conformity and hypnopedia and synthesis aren’t exactly common in the beer world. But the psychedelic artwork hints at the meaning: soma is the name of a drug that can cure any kind of unhappiness, bringing euphoria…
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Tapped February 1st, 2019

Originally released in late winter 2014, the benefit of hindsight now sees Nail Red as something of a watershed moment for John Stallwood and co at Nail. The Bassendean brewery’s trophy cabinet was already bulging with accolades from its first near fifteen years of operation but the market had by that stage shifted beyond the sort of beer's upon which that success was built. Lupulin fever was now gripping brewers and drinkers alike, pushing the threshold of what was considered a hoppy beer, while…
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Tapped February 1st, 2019

Who doesn’t love a split batch beer? Your Mates brewed a batch of saison, divided it in half, then added different fruit to the two halves: one half was blended with mango puree, while the other half features lychee puree.
In the mango version, there are two aromas vying for your nose, as the ripe mango sweetness and banana esters take turns stealing your attention. The liquid is almost opaque in appearance, and you can feel that thick texture in your mouth as you drink. This saison is a big,…
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The Crafty Pint is an independent online magazine and resource for anyone interested in craft beer in Australia. We bring an honest, old-fashioned journalistic approach to beer's brave new world, telling stories because they're worth telling not because someone is paying us to write them.

Like many of the people who have changed the face of beer in Australia, we believe in authenticity, integrity, enjoyment and love. We hope to play a role in helping good beer, brewed by good people, find its way into the hands of more drinkers.